Just to be clear, Tim Wu, who is challenging Kathy Hochul for Lt. Governor along with Cuomo’s Democratic challenger Zephyr Teachout, says he views the Lt. office as separate and independent from the governor.

And if he were elected to the #2 spot and Cuomo wins the governor’s race (as just about everyone expects) he wouldn’t be following the governor’s lead.

“I would view it as a separate office,” Wu said during a press conference earlier Thursday during which he attacked Hochuls environmental record while she was in Congress representing western New York.

“I will not take orders from the governor,” he said.

Handicapping the possibility of a Mario Cuomo/Al DelBello-style victory as happened in the 80s has been something of a pastime among reporters and pundits around here so questions about how he would interact with Andrew Cuomo were inevitable.

Wu also said, when asked, that he’s never met Andrew Cuomo and has yet to meet Hochul who he said he would still like to debate, although the deadline for such a contest that would have been hosted by NY1 and Time Warner cable in Albany has passed.

I forgot to ask Wu if he’s met Bob Duffy, Andrew Cuomo’s outgoing Lt. Gov. who has from the outset made it clear that he works for the governor and happily represents him as he travels the state.

Here’s Wu’s ”dossier” on Hochul’s environmental record. As someone representing a relatively conservative rust belt section of western New York, where there a still factories and power plants, some of Hochul’s votes, though, probably shouldn’t be a surprise.

Tim Wu, candidate for the Democratic nomination for state lieutenant governor, held a press conference today in Albany to again expose his opponent’s conservative voting record, this time focusing on her right-wing stance on environmental issues.

“On Wednesday, my opponent Kathy Hochul issued the following invitation to the public: ‘I ask people to look at my record in its entirety.’ Well, we’d like to take her up on that offer,” Wu said. “I and my staff have done extensive research on Hochul’s public record and we have found what we think is important information that the public needs to know.

“Her record on the environment is nothing short of abysmal and shocking,” he added.

In particular, Wu described Hochul’s votes with House Republicans to weaken the Clean Air Act and to open protected public lands for drilling and exploitation. The full Environmental Dossier—describing many more anti-environmental votes—is included with this release.

Mr. Wu, an academic with integrity versus a double talking, hate mongering opportunist…..Tough choice for the mentally challenged who continue to vote to destroy our Republic with clowns like Hochul and Cuomo!!

I predict that Teachout will end up coming within around five percentage points of beating Cuomo in the primary. This is because so few people vote in primaries in the first place (especially in off-year elections) and the handful of Democrats that will be mobilized to come out to vote are going to be the members of the more liberal wing of the party that have resented Cuomo the last four years. I also feel that the Democrats who like or don’t mind Cuomo are going to have no motivation to go to the polls especially since there are very few other primaries going on in most areas in NY.

In addition, it definitely seems like Cuomo has only helped to embolden people to vote against him in the primary by wasting so much time trying to knock Teachout off the ballot and employing sketchy tactics like having his interns show up to heckle her at campaign rallies. This seems to have only made things worse for Cuomo (in conjunction with the recent Moreland scandal) since it has inadvertently led to far more media coverage and name recognition of Teachout than what would probably have otherwise been seen if he basically ignored her throughout the primary race. Because of this, I really wouldn’t be surprised if there is some type of near-upset or a case where Tim Wu happens to squeak by and win as LG in the primary.

The governor is being such a baby by not even bothering to respond to debate invitations…as though his challengers will just go away if he doesn’t look directly at them. He is an embarrassment, and Hochul is just the latest of his politically-driven, self-interested choices. I see a lot of support for Teachout & Wu here in Columbia County – more than any of the polls are registering. When people take a minute to hear about them, they are on board. Those people need to remember to vote in the primary! I hope to see Mr. Wu make the most of the Lt. Gov office, whomever is sitting in the big chair after the election.

i honestly don’t understand where “progressives” (do NOT confuse that term with progress) think energy comes from. especially the hypocrites who live smack in the middle of the massive energy sink NYC metro region. there is no magic green wand, despite what sanctimonious academics afraid to get their hands dirty would have us believe.

Assuming Wu wins the primary, and Cuomo wins a second term, Wu will quickly become the invisible man, with Cuomo accepting nothing less than a lackey. Anything stronger than that will find Wu engaged in special projects in the far hinterland of the Adirondacks.
Wu is living an academic bubble.

GECannon: please read Article IV of the NYS Constitution and then let us know how you came to that conclusion. The powers of LG are in the constitution, and although traditionally the LG is irrelevant, nothing in the constitution forces the LG to be so. The LG is an ELECTED position.

“record on the environment” I laugh everytime I hear this thrown out there….no one votes to destroy the environment. The Progressives want people to believe that if you don’t vote for over zealous regulations that kill jobs, you are against the environment.

#12.) Progressives are NOT hippies. They run big and very big cities, in case you are unfamiliar with the results of recent elections.

It is the local small town and village residents, in beautiful upstate NY, which have turned against your favorite technology: fracking. You can’t convince your neighbors so it must be the “progressives'” fault. Progressives are what was once called, “outside agitators.”
Fracking is in trouble with the LOCALS because they fear environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is a condition or bi-product of wild-cat unregulated fracking operations. There is too much information indicating that this process has consequences which are not welcomed such a earthquakes, water table pollution/contamination. Can expect political subterfuge from the fracking industry and its spokespersons on this issue for many years to come? You bet.

The “idiots” who live smack in the middle of NYC. No thank you # 12. You really must learn civility and maybe how to debate.

Norman:
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As there is no actual “left” left in this nation, conservatives tend to think they are “centrists” and think anyone to the left of them is some sort of radical.
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Their political compasses stopped functioning correctly long ago, and they now confuse the center of the nations Overton Window with dead-center on an absolute left/right scale.
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A legitimate “far left” in this nation, if it existed, would scare the pants off of them. We’d become – *gasp* – Germany or something.
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We should be so lucky as to become what Germany is today. Funny thing is, it was us that designed their current government after WWII and set them on their path. We as a nation have long since forgotten the lessons on governing we taught them so many moons ago.

Norman, a sanctimonious sneer, be it facial or put into words is every bit as uncalled for as the word idiot. Besides, that word should be reserved for Kuomo. I take it you believe in the biased pools that are not even a significant sampling?

NY Landowner and other pro-frackers: progressives are not stupid to believe that there’s a magic wand, or that we don’t contribute to the problem by driving our cars to work (god forbid we’re not a bunch of welfare queens, as you guys like to say). What we believe in is in investments and research in new technologies that will make us not only energy independent, but also environmentally friendly. We are not decades away from it. NASA uses extremely sophisticated technologies for space flights. There are literally thousands of scientists worldwide researching new energy technologies. Progressives want the money that goes to subsidize corporate welfare in the energy industry (oil, coal and gas) to go to those other resources. Get it? We have the opportunity to do it, so let’s do it, even if that pisses off a handful of greedy landowners who dream of get rich quick schemes, even if that comes at an extreme cost for our environment and future generations. The line between greed and a future with clean and renewable energy is not thin. It’s very well defined. And, yes, dumb statements like “why don’t you stop driving your cars, etc” are just that: dumb.

Wu–one indictment away from being Governor. David Patterson should shut his corrupt trap because WU would be a much more competent Governor than he ever was! Now we hear Patterson gave thought to appointing himself as Senator–wonder what the outcome there would have been for DP being convicted for taking Yankee tickets.

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